Alternator testing apparatus and method
First Claim
1. Apparatus for dynamically testing a battery charging device while connected to the battery terminals and charging the battery, comprising:
- a plurality of discrete fixed-resistance loads, a plurality of switching devices respectively connected to the loads for connecting each load across the battery terminals, a controller coupled to the switching devices for automatically operating them in a predetermined sequence for varying the load on the battery while the batterv is being charged, and monitoring circuitry coupled to the controller and adapted to be coupled to the charging device for monitoring the output of the charging device during charging and loading of the battery.
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Abstract
An alternator test apparatus includes a processor and solenoid drivers for controlling solenoids to selectively switch three discrete, fixed-resistance loads and combinations thereof in parallel across the battery terminals, while monitoring battery output voltage and alternator output current. The system automatically sequentially increases the load from zero to a maximum load and stores the maximum alternator output current and the load at which it was achieved. After application of the maximum load, the system returns to the load at which maximum alternator output was achieved and tests the alternator diode.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. Apparatus for dynamically testing a battery charging device while connected to the battery terminals and charging the battery, comprising:
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a plurality of discrete fixed-resistance loads, a plurality of switching devices respectively connected to the loads for connecting each load across the battery terminals, a controller coupled to the switching devices for automatically operating them in a predetermined sequence for varying the load on the battery while the batterv is being charged, and monitoring circuitry coupled to the controller and adapted to be coupled to the charging device for monitoring the output of the charging device during charging and loading of the battery. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. Apparatus for testing a battery charging device while connected to the battery terminals, comprising:
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a plurality of discrete fixed-resistance loads, a plurality of switching devices respectively connected to the loads for connecting each load across the battery terminals, monitoring circuitry adapted to be coupled to the charging device and to the battery for monitoring the output current of the charging device and the system voltage, a processor operating under stored program control and coupled to the switching devices and to the monitoring circuitry for automatically operating the switching devices in a predetermined sequence for sequentially increasing the load on the battery, and a storage device coupled to the processor for storing the value of the maximum current output of the charging device and the value of the load on the battery when the maximum current output is achieved. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for dynamically testing a battery charging device while connected to the battery terminals and charging the battery, comprising:
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connecting the charging device to the battery for charging thereof, connecting discrete fixed-resistance loads and combinations thereof across the battery terminals in a predetermined sequence while the battery is being charged, wherein the loads include three discrete loads, respectively having different resistance values, each step of the predetermined sequence including connecting one or more of the loads in parallel across the battery so as to sequentially increase the load, and monitoring the output current of the charging device during charging and loading of the battery. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification